The use of base stations in wireless communication systems is generally well known. Base stations typically act as transfer points for communication with wireless communication devices, such as, but not limited to, cellular telephones. The typical base station is designed to transmit on a number of different carriers, or frequencies, at a maximum transmit power per carrier. This requires a certain amount of DC power input to the base station for transmission purposes.
Base stations typically receive power from a control center distally located from the base station. The DC power is supplied from the control center to the base station via a transmission cable connected therebetween. The inherent resistance of the cable dissipates some of the power supplied by the control center. As such, not all of the power supplied by the control center actually reaches the base station. The amount of power dissipated by the cable is directly proportional to the length of the cable.
Power dissipation in the transmission cable is a particular problem for base stations far removed from the control center. The base station may not receive enough power from the control center to transmit on its designed number of carriers at the maximum transmit power per carrier. As such, the base station will transmit on all carriers at a reduced power. This reduced power transmission may not be strong enough to reach the desired wireless communication device, or mobile station, thus causing breakdowns in the wireless communication system.
Further, should AC power be lost to the control center, due to a power outage, etc., the base station will operate in a battery backup mode, with the input power supplied by a battery in the control center.
Since the base station will transmit on all carriers at the maximum transmit power available by the battery, the operable life of the battery, and thus the base station, will be shortened.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-mentioned problems.